Dominic Mazzotta & Mark Cherico get opponents for Pinnacle FC 14

The fight card is coming together for Pinnacle FC 14, as the two headlining bouts have been announced by the promotion.

In one featured bout, Dominic Mazzotta (10-1) will defend his Pinnacle FC bantamweight title for the first time against Keith Ricardson (15-7).

Mazzotta has won seven straight bouts, including four under the Pinnacle FC banner. He won the organization’s bantamweight title with a submission over Varon Webb in just over a minute at Pinnacle FC 11 last August. He then bumped up to featherweight and claimed the 145-pound crown by stopping Rob Hanna via submission at Pinnacle FC 13 earlier this year. His lone loss came against current UFC contender Cody Garbrandt in 2014.

Richardson hails from South Carolina and is a veteran of the XFC and Bellator organizations. He recently had a five-fight winning streak snapped with a loss against Matt Bessette at Bellator MMA 153 in April. 9 of his 15 career wins have come via submission, including a first round stoppage over Frank Caraballo at RFO: Big Guns 16 last August.

Mark Cherico (9-1) is also set to make his return to action, and he’ll bump up a weight class to take on D’Juan Owens (14-10-1) in a lightweight battle.

Cherico has finished 7 of his 9 opponents, including a second round TKO over Nathan Landwehr last October. “The Pride of Bloomfield” announced his retirement after that bout, but he decided to return to the cage and will compete under the Pinnacle FC banner for an eighth time.

Owens is a veteran of the XFC and Titan FC promotions and has earned 10 of his 14 wins via stoppage. He holds notable wins over UFC veteran Dustin Pague and Nathan Landwehr.

The third pro bout features unbeaten rising lightweight star Devonte Smith (3-0) taking on Xavier Nash (2-1).

On the amateur side, unbeaten fighters from top gyms will square off when The Academy’s Chaka Worthy (4-0) takes on Evolve MMA’s Brian Hauser (4-0).

Pinnacle FC 14 takes place on Sept. 2 at the Syria Shriners Center in Cheswick, Pennsylvania just outside of Pittsburgh. The event is slated to stream live on FloCombat.

Check out the current lineup for Pinnacle FC 14 below.

Pinnacle FC 14 card

Pro Bouts:
Dominic Mazzotta (c) vs. Keith Richardson – Bantamweight Title
Mark Cherico vs. D’Juan Owens
Devonte Smith vs. Xavier Nash

Amateur Bouts:
Chaka Worthy vs. Brian Hauser
Gregg Rudolph vs. Shadi Garfeh